Dvalishvili: Extreme Sparring Before Defeating Sandhagen at UFC 320

Merab Dvalishvili: An Unusual Preparation for Victory in UFC

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili surprised everyone by doing a five-round sparring session at the gym, just hours before his title defense against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320. Dvalishvili (21-4) defeated Sandhagen (18-5) by unanimous decision, in what was apparently his second five-round fight of the day. This information was revealed by Khalil Rountree Jr., Dvalishvili’s teammate at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas, during an interview on the Jaxxon Podcast. Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood confirmed the news.

“This isn’t new, it’s funny that Khalil is the one revealing it,” Wood commented. “Merab has been doing this since I started training him [in 2020]. Every fight day, he comes in and spars for five rounds. He wanted to do six, and I had to stop him.”

John Wood, Head Coach of Syndicate MMA

According to Wood, these five rounds of sparring are performed at a pace of “approximately 70 percent.” Despite this, it remains an unusual practice in the sport, designed to be, in Wood’s words, “hard technical work.”

“I’ve had many guys who want to have a fluency assault over the years, but this is different”, explained Wood. “The way Merab does it, he’s a savage. He’s a real savage. I used to get nervous doing this on fight day, until I realized it’s part of his process”.

John Wood, Head Coach of Syndicate MMA

In addition to the five rounds in the gym, Dvalishvili does an extra warm-up in the venue before the fight. The 34-year-old Georgian fighter usually does between three and five more rounds with his teammate and former bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, right before entering the octagon.

“The craziest thing is the five rounds right before he fights,” Wood added. “Aljamain brings full gear, and it’s a full-on sparring match in the locker room. Obviously, Aljo isn’t there to hurt him, and it’s gotten to a point on multiple occasions where I feel bad for Aljo, because Merab is just beating him up in there. It’s pretty interesting.”

John Wood, Head Coach of Syndicate MMA

Dvalishvili is known for his relentless physical condition. In Saturday’s fight against Sandhagen, he achieved 20 takedowns, raising his career total to 117, the most in UFC history. He has already requested that the UFC schedule his next title defense in December.